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★★★★
‘Only Fools and Horses The Musical’ is at the Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury this week, 2 years on from the show’s final performance in the West End. Based in Peckham, London in the 1980s and covering over 20 years of material from the TV series, the musical primarily focuses on Del Boy’s first encounter with Raquel, Rodney’s upcoming marriage to Cassandra and Boycie and Marlene’s fertility journey. Packed full of the characters fans know and love, even as a newcomer to the Trotters, I quickly warmed to the charm of the characters and the unlikely friendships that made the sitcom so popular. With a book, music and lyrics by comedian Paul Whitehouse and Jim Sullivan: son of original show creator John Sullivan, this one is a definite crowd pleaser!
Comedy and writing
It goes without saying that comedy is the life and soul of this production. Almost every other line is funny and the character of Del Boy steals the show. Sam Lupton is exceptional in the role and is supported by the brilliant comedy talents of Philip Childs as Grandad and Kieran Andrew as Rodney. Each character requires precise comedic timing and the lines are delivered without a hitch. Additional standout performances are Lee VG as Trigger and Craig Berry as Boycie. Trigger’s musical moment ‘Gaze Into My Ball’ which looks at the future of Peckham is both random and a hilarious addition to the production, making you see beyond the character’s naivety.
Recreating The Nags Head
Alice Power’s set design is intimate but memorable, rotating to form the iconic Nags Head Pub, the Trotters flat, an Italian restaurant where Del Boy has his first date with Raquel and Waterloo Station to name a selection of locations. Whilst the adaptability of the set design is impressive, the slightly artificial-looking video projections sometimes let the physical set pieces down. That being said, I couldn’t help but laugh at how the video design contributes to the comedy, adding to the overall silly atmosphere.
Does it work as a musical?
Ahead of the performance, ‘Only Fools and Horses’ felt like the most unlikely of narratives to work within the musical theatre genre, however I actually enjoyed the production as a musical. The songs complement the comedy of the script, notably the dating number ‘Bit of a Sort’ (Del Boy and the Dating Agent) and ‘The Tadpole Song’ (Boycie and Marlene). Even though the Trotters’ dialect doesn’t make for the most flowing of lyrics, the words certainly reflect the personalities in the story and it’s refreshing to see the characters take centre stage. The only thing I couldn’t quite get behind was the inclusion of ‘Lovely Day’ (Bill Withers, Kirk Franklin and Skip Scarborough) and ‘Holding Back The Years’ (Mick Hucknall and Neil Moss). These well-known songs felt a little out of place in comparison to the theme tunes from the TV show and cheery original numbers. I have since learned that the Simply Red track was used in the ‘Little Problems’ episode on TV, which explains its inclusion in the musical, but tonally it doesn’t quite work for me within the stage adaptation.
A hilarious night at the theatre in Kent
Sometimes audiences are just looking for light-hearted escapism at the theatre and ‘Only Fools and Horses The Musical’ is exactly this. It is full of unrivalled humour and fantastic performances, appealing to longtime fans of the TV show first and foremost, but also anyone who likes comedy. Additionally, from the final song ‘Margate’ to the hilarious ‘Where Have All The Cockneys Gone?’ which hints that some Londoners have moved to Kent, you couldn’t help but appreciate the nods to our local county in the script. ‘Only Fools and Horses The Musical’ is at the Marlowe Theatre until Saturday 19th April, with the last few tickets available via the theatre’s website.
Thanks for reading my blog today.
Love Kat xxxx
*My ticket for ‘Only Fools and Horses’ was gifted in exchange for an unbiased review.
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